On the Bradford Cox Fracas

The recent hubub around Bradford Cox's hour-long cover of "My Sharona" at a heckler's request has been returning to fan the flames of general apathy that we're seeing regarding so called "internet" "music" "journalism." All these things are in quotations as they are not what they seem. For me the episode is hardly newsworthy unless you were at the show and if you were pissed because they didn't play "Helicopter" and that's your favorite song off the last record.

Over at Stereogum, writer Tom Breihan has posted some excerpts from Cox's Pitchfork interview where he "explains" what was going on. Perhaps the choicest quotation being:

I am a terrorist. As a homosexual, my job is simply to sodomize mediocrity. I am terrified and horrified and shocked that anyone would mention Phish in any article related to me

It's difficult to see why both Pitchfork and Stereogum are expressing what I would call mild editorial commentary to effectively negate Cox's comments. At Stereogum, Tom explains that it's the sort of interview that makes him glad he doesn't work at Pitchfork. And at Pitchfork Jenn Pelly, makes a semi-snide comment about the "interviewing" process of Cox.

Why do we feel that we have to editorialize Cox's comments? I'm happy with what Cox said and by the way it's about the same thing that progressive homosexual thinkers have been saying since Oscar Wilde. Cox's evocation of Lana Del Rey during the interview is apt. We seem to be fawning all over artists who are expressionless, whose music we can make a story out of more than letting them determine how they want to be seen. This mindset is the death of indie. So, thanks Bradford for still sticking it to the men.